COIMATORE: Four members of a family, including two women were hacked to death by a gang in Tirupur on Sunday evening.

Police said, Senthil Kumar, 47, who runs a wholesale rice shop in Kallakinaru near Palladam had questioned a group of men, who consumed liquor on his piece of vacant land around 7 p.m. After a quarrel, the accused persons, who were all drunk, attacked him with sickles.

Shocked family members, identified by police as Mohanraj, Rathinambal, and Pushpavathi came rushing to rescue him; however, they too came under brutal attack. All four persons collapsed and died on the spot.

On receiving information from neighbours, the Palladam Police rushed to the spot and sent the body of Senthil Kumar for a post-mortem at Palladam Government Hospital. However, the villagers refused to allow police to take the bodies of three others and resorted to a protest.

Police suspect that one Venkadesan alias Kutty, who worked in Senthil Kumar’s shop a few years ago, to be involved in the murder. Further investigations are on.